“If a person keeps growing, his or her various false selves
usually die in exposure to greater light.”
~ Richard Rohr, Immortal Diamond
From birth until death, our lives go through continuous seasons and cycles. This is not something we necessarily learn consciously, but if we’re in the habit of examining our own lives and feeding our souls with good spiritual nurture, it is a truth that is hard to miss. Our awareness and acceptance of the life and death cycle sometimes comes through difficult or tragic events and experiences that bring us to our knees. Perhaps it’s the surprising joys and blessings we receive and wholeheartedly embrace, such as becoming a parent, or finding a loving and committed partner. Maybe it’s coming to the realization that a career choice – or choice of voluntary service – is really a vocation after all.
Consider the adage, “This too shall pass.” It is a common phrase that is often used when we experience difficulty. But life requires us to acknowledge that even the joyful times that we experience will one day change. Sometimes the big difficulties and joys occur while we’re young; sometimes they happen much later in life. I have a brother who unexpectedly became a loving parent for the first time in his forties, and a sister who met the love of her life in her fifties. These experiences both surprised and blessed them. Yet, I also think of the men, women and children who had no spouse, mother, father or other family member returning home on September 11, 2001, when United Flight 93 crashed, the Pentagon was bombed, and the Twin Towers fell in New York City. No matter the circumstances – sorrowful or joyous – these times will inevitably change us and become humus for our further growth.The longer we practice our journaling, the more likely it can and will shift us toward a more spiritual focus: the stuff of our lives will be mulched into a living garden of experience. Gains and losses in all areas of life will be the soil of our experiences, and these will inform our next steps – our decision making. The years of decisions will carve our lives into distinct seasons: work and love that is satisfying and/or turbulent; losing or finding our way and eventually waking up; and perhaps a decision to embark on a more intentional season of growth. Growth may come in spurts or may seem to peter out altogether. These dead ends may feel discouraging or depressing. Yet, if we continue the search, we will find our way again – and again and again. Even times of unproductivity and unrealized dreams can be the fuel for our continued growth: what we lost or gave up will open the space for something new.
Questions for Journaling
- What season of the lifecycle are you in now? Which stage have you just relinquished? How did it prepare you for what is happening now or coming next? What strengths have you gained? What did you have to let go of to be here now? Is there anything else that you need?
- Which metaphors in nature can you use to write a parable or description of what is happening to you? Write that story.
- What do you need to let go of now? Can you make space for something new to emerge? What does that look like? Can you be patient with yourself, yet gently persistent and faithful in your seeking?
- To whom, what or where are you being called now?
- To whom do you truly belong?
- Where does love want to take you? Where is the spark of new life leading you?
Copyright © 2022 Jo-Ellen A. Darling. Excerpt from Journaling as a Spiritual Path: A Journey to Your True Self and the Divine | All rights reserved.
Journaling as a Spiritual Path 